Amtrak Building Broadband Wireless Network

Amtrak plans to build its wireless network, at first offering Internet speed as fast as 25 Mbps per car, improving to 100 Mbps by 2019, according to the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP). Amtrak plans to start the revamp in the Northeast Corridor, and will be accepting proposals from contractors up until July 28.

High demand, combined with spotty and slow coverage have generated criticism of Amtrak’s WiFi

Unlike most airlines, Amtrak said it would continue to provide free Wi-Fi service. The railroad said that Wi-Fi was available on trains that serve 75 percent of Amtrak passengers, and that it routinely supported 30 percent to 50 percent of passengers on a given train.

Airlines are addressing the WiFi capacity issue by using Ka band High Throughput satellites.

Amtrak, which already uses some satellite connectivity, is sharing existing cell towers to provide most of its capacity. Now, Amtrak says, it will build a dedicated wireless network just for its trains.

The new network will use base stations near the rail line, connected via fiber or microwave to the nearest Internet connection. With trains traveling up to 160 miles per hour, providing 25 Mbps per car would be a neat trick.